Penn vs. Hughes III at UFC 123

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There has been much speculation since BJ Penn’s loss at UFC 118 to Frankie Edgar as to what was next for the former champion.

Looks like he’s ready to take a step back in time.

At UFC 123, taking place at the Palace at Auburn Hills in Michigan on November 20th, two legends will go toe-to-toe in a rubber match as BJ Penn looks to rebound from a two fight losing streak against welterweight legend Matt Hughes. This will mark the first time these two have fought in over 4 years and could propel one of the two towards the top of the 170lb division.

The two split a pair of bouts back when both were still in their prime, with Penn defeating Hughes for the 170 title via submission at UFC 46 and Hughes getting revenge with a 3rd round TKO at UFC 63. Hughes had previously said he was taking the rest of the year off and would return in 2011, but after winning his third fight in a row back in August over Ricardo Almeida, the Matt Hughes Retirement Tour will make one more stop in 2010.

The fight will co-headline the card, which is the first UFC event held in Michigan since UFC 9. The other main event will be a light heavyweight bout between Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Lyoto Machida. A bout Joe Lauzon and George Sotiropoulos is also on tap.